To avoid being dragged into controversy, a Spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress, APC, Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, dodged that he never instituted legal action against the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu as Lagos State governor.
Rather, Keyamo admitted dragging the Lagos State House of Assembly to court to seek an interpretation of the law over an alleged certificate forgery case.
Tinubu appointed Keyamo, who once sued the Lagos State House of Assembly for clearing the then governor on allegations of certificate forgery, as spokesman for his campaign.
Read also
- Keyamo Mocks Critics For Admitting Buhari Is ALive, Relates With Zakari
- BREAKING: Akpabio, Keyamo, Others Make Buhari’s Ministerial List
- 2023: Bola Tinubu wins APC presidential ticket
In the case entitled, ‘Keyamo vs Lagos State House of Assembly’ with docket number ID/639M/99, in 1999, Keyamo convoked all 41 members of the house before Justice C.O Segun of the Lagos State High Court and insisted that the chief judge investigate Tinubu for forgery.
The Spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, Daniel Bwala, has proven that Keyamo, who is also the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, once sued the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, for alleged certificate forgery.
Bwala, in an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday, noted that Keyamo had sued the Lagos Assembly in 2002 over Tinubu’s candidacy as the then governor of Lagos State.
Keyamo who is also Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Employment refuted the claims said he never dragged Tinubu to court over alleged certificate forgery.
He stated that the Supreme Court had acquitted Tinubu of certificate forgery allegation.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Minister said the case was not “borne out of bitterness and hate” but to “unravel the truth and the real constitutional powers of the House of Assembly”.
Keyamo said: “I never sued Tinubu. No. I sued the House of Assembly seeking an interpretation of the law.
“Once the Supreme Court pronounces on an issue, it becomes binding on even the lawyer who loses and he is bound to obey and defend the judgment of the court.
“So assuming (which is not conceded) that I made any kind of accusation in the matter, once the Supreme Court ruled, that was the end of the matter and from that moment, it behoves me to stop pushing a matter already laid to rest by the highest court of the land and defend the decision.”
Bwala cited a law report titled Keyamo V. House Of Assembly, Lagos State (2002), Bwala said, “This is the Supreme Court decision in the case I have cited and I will just read a line: The appellant alleged amongst others as a legal practitioner that he has been confronted by some of his clients who wanted to understand certain things they consider important relating to their contesting the governorship in Lagos State.
“He further, that is Festus Keyamo, alleged certificate forgery against the Governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and that the latter was not qualified for the office of the governor.”
Bwala noted that Keyamo, who was recently appointed as the spokesperson of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation, was the appellant in the then case.
Bwala was an All Progressives Congress chieftain who left the party after Tinubu unveiled Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
After Bwala defected to the PDP following the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket criticism, Atiku appointed him as campaign spokesman.
Also, Reno Omokri, Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Jonathan Goodluck administration said Festus Keyamo once prosecuted Bola @officialABAT for fraud and forgery. Today, the same @FKeyamo goes on AriseTV as his spokesman, to say Tinubu went to primary school from home. You can’t make up the types of things that happen in Nigeria.
The legendary activist and lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi had accused Tinubu of forging his school certificates and sought an order of the court compelling the police to investigate him.
The court ruled that because Tinubu enjoyed immunity at the time, only the Lagos State House of Assembly could investigate him.
